Jaw-Dropping Photographs of Snowbound Buffalo

Jaw-Dropping Photographs of Snowbound Buffalo

A mind-boggling six feet of snow lashed Buffalo in November, inundating New York’s second largest city with an entire winter’s worth of white stuff in just 24 hours. Before residents even started the daunting task of digging out, local photographers took to the streets and skies to capture the freak weather event.

Derek Gee, Chief Photographer of the Buffalo News, was one such journalist who braved the elements in the aftermath of ‘Snowmageddon.’ A rare break in the weather allowed Gee to board a helicopter and document the full extent of the November deluge.

The collection of aerial photographs shows a winter wonderland gone horribly awry. Gee’s most memorable shots include residents digging tunnels taller than their heads, a major interstate highway littered with stranded semi-trailers, and streets of suburban homes that, at first glance, resemble giant igloos.

“This storm has been extremely difficult to cover because the sheer volume of snow makes it impossible to get into the hardest hit areas,” Gee told Mashable. “In order to show our readers what was happening in these areas, we knew we had to be creative. One reporter-photographer team hired experienced snowmobile drivers to bring them in. Another photographer finally made it to the Thruway in a convoy with the governor. A fortuitous break in the weather offered just the right conditions to fly over the community.”

Some of Gee’s most shocking photographs are of Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills. The storm dumped an estimated 220,000 tons of snow on the football ground, forcing the NFL to move the Jets-Bills Sunday clash to Detroit’s Ford Field.

Photos: Derek Gee/Buffalo News

West Seneca, NY resident Jim Grimaldi’s drone footage is also worth checking out. Jim safely piloted his DJI phantom through the worst of the storm, as four inches of snow per hour fell. The subsequent YouTube video of the joyride has already amassed over one million views on YouTube.